James Bell Associates, led by project director James DeSantis, Ph.D., is supporting the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) with Adaptable Evaluation Training and Technical Assistance for Healthy Marriage, Promoting Responsible Fatherhood and Tribal/TANF Child Welfare Grantees. JBA is assisting 235 OFA research and demonstration grantees in building their evaluation capacity and helping them to enhance the rigor of their evaluation designs. Our nationally recognized research firm first assesses each grantee’s specific needs, then delivers workshops, Webinars, teleconferencing, email consultations and site visits as needed. In the final phase, JBA will collaborate with other OFA TA contractors to identify “Promising Practices” among the Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage grantees.

Under a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, the Evaluation of the Immunize Kansas Kids Initiative will continue through 2010. A phased approach will focus on results achieving a sustainable statewide immunization strategy and infrastructure that promotes, tracks, and assures age-appropriate childhood immunizations at rates recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Led by project director James Bell, M.A. and senior scientist Cheryl McDonnell, Ph.D., the JBA team is proud to be the independent evaluators chosen for this strategic and far-reaching children’s health and prevention services initiative.

Thanks to Robert Chrestensen of Edmonds, WA, creative director and project manager, and Jason Conway of Share Right Corporation (jason@shareright.com), a Seattle-based Web development firm, JBA launched its new highly informative and user-friendly Web site. Clients, job seekers and other interested parties will find an array of relevant information on JBA just a click away, including details about its staff and projects as well as access to other relevant information and selected reports.